


Nighttime Gamble

by olivemyheart



Category: Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gambling, Gen, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:28:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26437951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/olivemyheart/pseuds/olivemyheart
Summary: "The casino at night was terrifying in the same way Monokuma was. Not directly fearsome, like a murderer approaching you with a knife, but a subtler kind of dread. The quiet anticipation of waiting to see what horror would reveal itself under the neon lights."What if Jabberwock Island had a casino?
Relationships: Hinata Hajime & Komaeda Nagito, Hinata Hajime/Komaeda Nagito
Comments: 6
Kudos: 70





	Nighttime Gamble

**Author's Note:**

> Basically I was playing DRV3 and was like "ha, it would be funny if the casino was in SDR2 because Nagito would win everytime." Then I remembered I'm a writer and I can Do That.

The casino at night was terrifying in the same way Monokuma was. Not directly fearsome, like a murderer approaching you with a knife, but a subtler kind of dread. The quiet anticipation of waiting to see what horror would reveal itself under the neon lights.

Hajime shivered as he went down the walkway, hugging himself against the cold night air. He reached for the large, plush velvet doors and pulled on the golden handle. It opened easily despite its large size, a loud, cheery song assaulting him from inside.

Normally Hajime avoided gaudy places on the island, like he avoided the movie theatre and the music venue, but the nighttime announcement had just rung and Nagito wasn’t at his cabin. He had come to the casino shortly after breakfast, and hadn’t been seen all day, so he must still be here.

 _A casino for an Ultimate Lucky Student,_ Hajime thought. _I wonder what he’s doing._

Monokuma showed up with his typical spring-like sound effect to prattle about the casino’s function. He tried to cajole Hajime to trade his Monocoins for playable Monotokens, and even drooled in a pathetic imitation of a needy lover. Hajime sidestepped him with a grimace. He didn’t have time for Monokuma’s stupid games: he just needed to get Nagito and get out.

Monokuma, unfortunately, popped up again in front of the stairs to obstruct Hajime’s path. “And since you were all wondering,” he said in his shrill voice. “The Monotokens cannot be exchanged back for Monocoins! But you can use them to purchase fabulous prizes~”

“I’m the only one here, and I don’t care about that,” Hajime snapped. “Can you move? I’m just here to get Nagito.”

Monokuma chuckled, and Hajime knew he’d made a mistake. “Oh, I see! In the heat of passion, the dashing tsundere makes a slip of the tongue and reveals who his heart truly belongs to. Nevertheless, he rushes to reconcile with his lover, rebuking Monokuma in the process. I’d be upset at being rejected if this weren’t such a ju-u-uicy plot twist!” It held its hands over its mouth and disappeared from sight.

“I’m not—” Hajime called, but Monokuma was already gone. He rubbed at his eyelids, losing the battle against his oncoming headache. There was no point in arguing with Monokuma anyways.

He headed down the stairs, feeling his resolve drain with every step. He wished he could just leave Nagito alone, but allowing Nagito to wander the island at night was a recipe for disaster—and possibly death. Someone had to make sure he was safely stowed away in his cabin so the rest of the class could have the illusion of safety. 

Problem-solving duty always fell to Hajime. And Nagito was the biggest problem of all.

Sure enough, Nagito was standing by an arcade machine against the wall of the room, multicolored lights painting his pale face strange colors. He was so entranced by whatever he was doing that he didn’t even look up when Hajime entered.

Hajime walked over, peeking over Nagito's shoulder. Shadows of fish swam back and forth across a monitor, Nagito grabbing them with apparent purpose. Hajime cleared his throat and Nagito jumped, jerking the joystick with the force of his surprise.

“Hajime! I didn’t see you there! Have you finally come to take up my offer?”

Hajime looked at the offered hand, making no move to take it. “I’m not here to kill you.”

Nagito let his hand drop, face falling, though he quickly raised it back into his normal smile. “Then why are you here? You know a disdainful person like me doesn’t deserve to be in the presence of a hope-filled Ultimate student like you, even if I secretly hoped you would come by.”

“I’m just here to bring you back to the cabins. Didn’t you hear? It’s nighttime.”

Nagito smiled, his sly grin that wore a mask of optimism. “Ah, my mistake. It’s hard to hear anything over this music.”

The music was, indeed, painfully loud. Hajime ran his thumb over his hand nervously. “Why are _you_ here?”

“I spent most of today playing the slot machines, but I got bored of it, so I decided to try a game of skill instead. Though I lost more tokens than I won, since I don't have any skill at all.”

That wasn't what Hajime was asking, but when was Nagito straightforward? “You’ll develop a gambling addiction that way.”

Nagito smiled sincerely, back to his cheerful self. Or more accurately, the cheerful persona he wore to hide his terrifying true nature. “I’m flattered that you would express concern for my well-being, but I think you’re mistaken, Hajime. Let me show you.” He hopped off his seat, walking over to the slot machine while Hajime trailed him like a lost puppy. It was tragically funny how much time on this island he spent following Nagito, with his charismatic personality and his devious schemes only Hajime could unmask.

Nagito took a few tokens out of his pocket, dropping them into the machine until all seven slots lit up. Then he pulled the lever, wheels spinning deliriously before coming to a stop.

All seven rows filled out. A perfect score. The machine began spitting out Monotokens.

“The Ultimate Lucky Student,” Hajime said, watching the glittering stream of coins pile on the floor. “Of course.”

“Though my talent is completely worthless in comparison to the abilities of our classmates—and you, whose talent I’m sure will surpass everyone once you remember—it does have the most minimal of uses, especially when it comes to luck-based games.”

Hajime nodded slowly, feeling stupid. “Does this happen every time?”

“Exactly right!” Nagito said, waving his hands wildly. “So you see why you shouldn’t spare even a thought for me? It’s very difficult to get addicted to gambling when you know you’re going to win every time.” He lowered his hands, holding his chin thoughtfully. “Though considering all the good luck I’ve used today, I’ll probably have to isolate myself for the next few days so none of you get hurt when something terribly bad happens.”

“Right…” Hajime ran a hand through his spiky hair. “So if you’re not enjoying this, and you’re using up all your luck, why have you spent all day in here?”

“For you, Hajime!” Nagito waved his hands again. Beside him, coins fell into a pile, clattering loudly against each other. “As you know, Monotokens can’t be exchanged for Monocoins or real money. But they can be exchanged for prizes, and after a bit of bargaining, I managed to convince Monokuma that the items in the movie theater gift shop count as prizes!’

“So…?”

Nagito grinned, eyes spinning with madness. “You can use all the tokens I won to pay for your sticker!”

Hajime nearly choked with how fast his laugh spilled out of his throat. He doubled over, clutching at his stomach, and Nagito's smile dropped. “Hajime? Hey, Hajime?”

Hajime wiped a tear from his eye. “Seriously? You spent all day in the casino for _that?_ ”

“Yes, I did! Is something wrong…?”

Hajime waved his hand. “I don’t think you get it. The only way I can escape this island is if the mastermind dies or gets sent to prison, or I get freaking murdered. Either way, I won’t need to pay his stupid debt. On my list of concerns, that sticker is at the very bottom.”

Nagito scuffed his shoe against the ground. “Oh. Of course. I thought that I was capable of helping you in the smallest way, but it seems that I failed even that simple task. I’m sorry for wasting your time. You should leave. I’ll return to the cabins after depositing my Monotokens.”

Hajime looked at the glittering tokens, which continued to fall out of the machine in a cacophony of clicking. The ever-growing pile on the floor seemed pitiable, now.

“Look. I didn’t really mean that. Monokuma was holding that debt over my head, so it’ll be nice to get him to shut up about it. Thank you.”

Nagito beamed. “Anything for you, Hajime!”

The worst part was that Nagito was completely serious. He really would do anything for Hajime, even offer his own life. Hajime sighed.

“Let’s just go back to the cabins.”

Nagito glanced at the coins on the floor. The slot machine had stopped dispensing its prize, and the pile was hundreds of tokens high. “I should deposit these. Monokuma was helping me carry them earlier, but he disappeared a few minutes before you arrived.”

“Leave your tokens. You have enough already,” Hajime said, leading Nagito out.

Nagito tilted his head, upwards-facing wisp of hair drifting with his motion. “Do you think Monokuma needs to sleep?”

“What, no! Monokuma is a robot. He doesn’t need sleep. But the person controlling him does.”

“Unless Monokuma is controlled by a robot,” Nagito said cheerfully. “Or perhaps it pilots itself.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Hajime said tiredly.

“Actually, I heard that programmers are close to finding the secret of real AI! The forefront of research is at Hope’s Peak, of course. Perhaps they made a breakthrough during our two years of lost memories, and Monokuma doesn’t need to be controlled at all…”

He continued to blabber as they left. Hajime was too tired to listen, though admittedly the topic was interesting. Nagito eventually trailed off, perhaps sensing Hajime’s mood, and they walked the rest of the way to the cabins in silence.

“Well,” Hajime said, holding an arm out half-heartedly. “Here we are.” He dropped his arm.

Nagito nodded, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets. “Thank you for escorting me back, Hajime. It’s more than a useless piece of trash like me deserves.”

He paused for a moment, enough time for a thousand things to run through Hajime’s mind. He didn’t say any of them.

After a brief moment of silence, Nagito turned and walked away, pale hair glowing in the moonlight before he was swallowed by the dark abyss of his doorway. Hajime watched him go, a strange emptiness in his chest. The feeling of an opportunity passed, though he couldn’t put his finger on what it was.

“Goodnight,” he said belatedly, though Nagito was long since gone. Then he turned and went to bed.


End file.
